In order to present yourself with the best opportunities at the poker table you need to be able to calculate your odds and measure your odds against the deck. First, you need to know how many outs you have or how many opportunities there are for you to hit the cards that you are looking for. There are 4 suits, Spades, Hearts, Clubs, and Diamond’s. Each suit has 13 cards from 2- Ace, making up a 52 card deck. After you are dealt your first to cards you will begin to think about what opportunities that are available given the cards that are in your hand. The point here is to think about your own cards and not to worry about the cards of the other players. If you can do this you are already ahead of 60% of the players out there.

Let’s assume that you are dealt an Ace and a King of spades, a very strong hand. There are many possible opportunities available. You can hit a flush, a straight, straight flush, a pair, 2 pairs. You want to make sure that you are in this hand without overpaying to see the flop. Once, the ante’s are made and you are in to see the flop you are in a position to begin calculating your odds. Let’s assume the flop lands 10 Spades, Jack of Diamond, 4 of heart. At this point you have the same opportunities as you did prior to the flop. So let’s count your outs:
To Hit the Flush: (need 2 more spade cards)
There are 10 possible cards that can land to make you hit your flush.
Total Outs = 10
To hit the straight: (need a queen)
4 Queens are still available
Total Outs = 4
A Pair of Aces or Kings (another Ace or King)
3 Aces and 3 Kings are still available making 6 possible cards
Total Outs = 6

Right now you have a total of 20 possible outs. This is one of the strongest hands you will ever see. Right now you have a 42% chance of hitting a card that you need to have a possible winning hand. The way to calculate these odds is to take the total number of outs (20)x the amount of cards that will be shown(2) + the amount of cards that will be shown (2). So 20 X 2 + 2= 42%. When you are at this point 42% is a very high percentage in terms of Texas Hold’em. As a note anything over 22% is a strong hand.

Let’s assume the next card (4th street) is shown and it is an 7 of Diamonds. This card does nothing for you and it will change your odds dramatically. Your outs are as follows:

To Hit the Flush:
No Longer an option

To Hit the Straight:
You need a Queen
Total Outs= 4

To hit a Pair:
Need a King or an Ace
Total Outs= 6

Your odds to hit a winning hand at this point are 12%. Again, we calculated Total Number of Outs(10)X the number of cards the dealer will throw down (1) + the number of cards the dealer will throw down (1)= 12%. At this point, anything from 11% and up is a decent hand. If you can check to stay in or pay a small % of the total pot to see the next card you should stay in. However, if another player comes on strong with a large % of the pot bet it is probably best to jump ship.

This short lesson in playing Texas Hold’em is only a part of the game. There are many other aspects to consider. Some of these aspects include the other player’s style, bluffs, the mount of your stack vs. your competition, and most importantly the size of the pot and the bets that are being made. Also, as a quick note, you should practice calculating your odds when watching poker tournaments on television or in an online poker room. If you try this for the first time at the poker table, the cards will be moving toO fast and none of this will make any sense. Remember, focus on your cards and your odds and you will likely be in a better position than most players.

Spend some time practicing online and while watching television. Then you can book your cheap flight to vegas with CheapOair. CheapOair is an online travel agency with the cheapest hotel and flights!

So let’s count your outs:

Considering Online vs. Live Roulette: Table Options

A big key in successful roulette is finding the right table. This does not mean finding a “lucky” table, but rather finding one with a “European” roulette wheel, one that has only a single zero, rather than the American double zero wheel. The entire House edge comes from the zeroes on the wheel, so a single zero wheel cuts the House edge in half. If your live casino only offers American roulette, you may prefer to get your action online where you can get the most favorable odds. If you are a smart player and have read quite a reasonable review about the roulette sniper, you can at least try your luck and use this particular knowledge as well.

Considering Online vs. Live Roulette: Atmosphere

Playing roulette can be a social event. A hot roulette table at a live casino finds lots of eager players crowded around, all watching the ball dance around the wheel intently, crying out with delight when someone hits the number on the nose. Online roulette can be a much more isolated, quiet affair. If you love the action and excitement of the casino, live roulette may be more fun for you. If you’d rather be able to quietly focus on the game, online roulette may be more fun.

Considering Online vs. Live Roulette: Speed

Some people are very comfortable with the speed of live roulette. They have no problem getting all their bets down in time and like that the game moves briskly. Others may feel differently. If you need lots of time to figure out what your bets will be, or if you get impatient waiting for the next spin, you may want to play online instead, where you can control the speed of the game by spinning the wheel whenever you’re ready, not when the casino is ready.

The way to get into football and find out what is going on with the teams, is to find a really good Football Fans Website, that gives you the insight into the game, the players and the teams.  Because if you don’t know what is going on and who is who in the football world then you are missing half of it.  If you are going to take a bet on a team, then you definitely have to follow whats going on and do your homework, otherwise you are throwing money away!

But to be honest its the football babe of the day that really gets me going back for more…

Amazing how golf can be a real leveler.  Just as you think ahh I think I got the hang of this game, you smack the ball into the rough… pretty much how my life has gone!!

But when I took 5 shots to reach the edge of the green on a par 4, I thought oh well, what the heck… lets just have a go at this chip shot and get it close to the hole…. I chipped it a bit strongly it hit the pin and dropped in for a double bogey, which may sound like terrible golf to you, but for me thats not bad!!  I need all the help I can get, even if it is from the pin.

And that I guess is life sometimes there is a pin in the way to help you and other times there isn’t… and thats how my gambling goes most times!

First off, the croupier… now there’s a french word for dealer, actually there are a lot of french gambling terms used every day in casinos… any way where was I?…. oh yes… the croupier says,”Faites vos jeux” which means “place your bets”.  Translated literally it means ”make your games”, funny that I suppose betting really is all about a game and having fun, although some may say it is a bit more serious than that.

And then just before the croupier is about to spin the roulete wheel, he or she will say, “Rien ne va plus” which means “nothing more goes”.  Or, no more betting because I am about to spin the wheel!

And thats about all you need to know in french, the rest is in the odds and numbers. Working out how much you have won, in different currencies… or lost

My favorite race of the season, by far, is Monaco.  The allure and class of Monaco is special.  Race tracks are boring in comparison.  The wealth and class of Monaco, all the huge yachts and then of course there is the gambling in Monte Carlo…

Last night I happened to be sitting next to a guy that worked in the pits for one of the racing teams based in the UK.  So we got talking. I was interested in how Jenson Button was doing because although he started off the season incredibly well, the other drivers were catching up.  He gave some great insight into what happens behind the scenes.

Then we got onto cars, how the cars have had to change this season and which was the best racing car etc… but what I was really interested in, is that he said you can have driving experiences in a Supercar at racing circuits in the UK and Europe… Now that would be cool!!  Although I would love to own a Supercar, practically I am probably never going to… but if I could just drive one for a day… dream on…

How wise can this decision by Cashcade be… getting rid of a cash cow?  Apparently the Independant News & Media group who has a 20% stake in Cashcade, is trying to raise cash to pay back a bond and I wonder how much of a role they have played in this decision.

Its desperate times for some companies in debt, and that usually calls for desperate measures.  But off loading a profit making company, with a tidy little cash flow, to repay your debt… is that wise?

He nonchalantly pulls out some cannabis and uses it to bet.  I wonder who he thought he was.  The security cameras pick it up and inform the police.  All the time the gambler acts as though it doesn’t matter and he can get away with it.  He doesn’t even bother to take it off the table, or try and get away before the security or the police arrive.

When the police ask him what he thought he was doing, he replies “I have a cannabis card which allows me to carry cannabis”.  So he thought it was legal…

Now that is dumb!